Chapter 93 - Older Brothers and Rock Oysters
In a corner of the noble district stood a three-story building, its white bricks adorned with blue accents.
Inside a private room on the third floor, Volf sat across the table from his older brother, Guido. The wide garden outside the window was a riot of flowers and greenery, illuminated by the soft glow of the noble district's lights.
Volf adjusted the buttons of his jacket, realizing his attire might be too casual for such a refined establishment.
"Relax, Volfred. That’s the whole point of a private room.”
Guido shrugged off his navy jacket and draped it over the back of his chair. It was the kind of act that would have left his attendants scrambling in a panic, but the only people in the room were the two brothers and a server.
The server poured white wine into their glasses, and Guido was the first to raise his.
"I’m glad we can finally drink together. Here’s to a long-overdue dinner between brothers."
"And to our health and good fortune starting tomorrow. Cheers."
The clink of their glasses rang out rather loudly. The white wine they sipped was light and smooth, perfectly quenching their thirst.
"I watched the drill from a distance today. Volfred, it almost looked like you were playing 'tag.'"
"I was assigned the role of distraction today."
Volf gave a vague smile. He couldn’t exactly admit that he’d been targeted out of personal grudges related to women.
His brother watched him with a subtle, somewhat ambiguous smile.
"...You’ve always been good at 'tag,' ever since you were a child. I remember the four of us running around the back garden."
"... Oh, now that you mention it, we did play together in the main estate’s garden."
"Fabio would chase after you and take a spectacular fall, while Elude would cry, saying, 'I ran with everything I had, but Volfred still caught me!'"
The memories came flooding back: playing tag with his three older brothers.
Guido, the eldest; Fabio, who had passed away; and Elude, who was now stationed at the border.
Despite the age gap, his three brothers had played with him, indulging his youthful energy.
Volf had all but forgotten those days, but now the memories resurfaced vividly, filling him with a deep sense of nostalgia.
"...We all got scolded together that time we played tag before a relative's wedding, didn't we?"
As he retraced his memories, he recalled the boredom of the long wait before the wedding, which had driven them to play tag in the garden. He also remembered how they were eventually found by his mother, who had come looking for them while they were completely engrossed in the game.
"It had just rained, and we got mud all over our formal clothes."
"Yes, and we were scolded terribly for it. I never imagined, at fourteen, I’d still get spanked."
"You too, Brother?"
"Yes. All of us—Fabio and Elude too. My mother had allowed the punishment, too. But Vanessa-sama packs quite the strength, so... it hurt quite a bit.”
Volf had vivid memories of being spanked to tears by his mother, but he hadn’t known his brothers had shared the same fate.
As Volf struggled to decide whether it was appropriate to laugh, Guido poured more wine into his glass. Volf thanked him and returned the favor, filling Guido’s glass.
Finally, he slipped off the jacket he had been wearing.
"I’m a bit late in saying this, but thank you for inviting me tonight."
"It’s nothing. I just happened to hear some things from the 'First' and thought I’d pay you a visit."
"I’m sorry to have troubled you."
"No, it’s just a personal feeling of mine... To put it simply, I was just 'pissed off,' that’s all."
Volf froze mid-drink, startled by the uncharacteristically blunt admission. It seemed Guido already knew about the targeting Volf had endured during the drill.
"A group of knights trying to harm a single person—it’s unthinkable. And their reasoning is utter nonsense."
"That’s..."
It was the first time he had ever seen such anger on Guido’s face. He wanted to say something, but no words came to him.
"In the first place, just what do they think of my brother? The distance I’ve kept until now was my own cowardice, not your fault, Volfred."
"This isn’t your fault either, Brother."
"...I’m sorry. This kind of talk will ruin a perfectly good dinner. Let’s drop it."
By the time they finished the first bottle of wine, the first dish of the evening had arrived.
"These are huge."
"This year’s rock oysters seem to be a good batch."
The rock oysters on the plate were so large they spilled over the edges of a palm.
Their upper shells had already been removed, revealing milky-white flesh that gleamed under the light.
Volf squeezed a generous amount of lemon over one, carefully cut the flesh with a knife, and brought it to his mouth, trying not to spill the juices.
As soon as he bit into it, the oyster’s rich flavor and sweetness spread across his palate. The taste of the sea, along with the subtle nuances of each part of the oyster, became more pronounced as he chewed.
Though it lacked the creamy, milk-like texture of winter oysters, it was still flavorful, firm, and perfectly balanced with a natural brininess that required no added salt.
The oysters were so fresh that even after sipping white wine immediately, there wasn’t the faintest hint of fishiness.
Volf enjoyed winter oysters as well, but he found this summer variety just as delightful.
Guido seemed to share his appreciation, holding an oyster in his left hand while carefully slicing into it with his knife.
"Well? How is it?"
"It’s very delicious."
"Good. Let’s order more. Would you prefer grilled oysters or ones cooked in butter next?"
"These raw ones are already so good, it’s hard to decide."
"Then let’s have both. And more wine as well."
In high spirits, his older brother called the server over, requesting additional dishes and a wine with an excessively long name.
As Volf savored his second oyster, his thoughts drifted to Dahlia.
He had never eaten oysters with her before. If Dahlia also enjoyed oysters, it might be fun to go out together to indulge in rock oysters. Comparing winter oyster dishes together could be another enjoyable experience.
While entertaining these thoughts, he realized his wine glass had emptied.
"Volfred, you hold your liquor well. Could it be that you’re a King Snake?"
"My squad calls me a Sea Serpent."
After his older brother brought up the analogy of giant snakes, he hesitated for a moment but then responded, "A Sea Serpent, essentially, doesn’t get drunk."
"You must have inherited your strong tolerance for alcohol from Vanessa-sama"
"Is that so? I don’t recall seeing Mother drink much..."
"She always drank red wine while giving you grape juice, matching glasses for both of you. But she’d always drain her glass in one go, so it was always empty."
Volf nearly choked on his drink at this unexpected revelation about his mother’s drinking habits.
To finish a glass in one go every time—what kind of drinking habit is that?
"...Uhm, talking about Vanessa-sama like this, does it bother you?"
"No, not at all. I’m surprised, but it’s fun to hear. I always saw her as a knight, so this is new to me."
"Yes, that’s true. She really was quite cool."
Hearing his brother describe his mother as "cool" rather than "beautiful" brought Volf a sense of joy.
The rest of the evening passed as they continued to enjoy the oyster dishes while clinking glasses with each other.
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